Mouth: Entrance into mouth is repulsive. Is something rotting in here? Somehow the rich character is completely killing the fact that there is a nice roast malt, burnt toast finish. Some sour quality that just doesn't work. What the heck is making that flavor? Unfortunately I don't think that this is a tainted bottle.

Pours a two finger tan head that fades slowly leaving some lace. Dark brown almost black color. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Alcohol nose. Flavor is alcohol and woody, needs to be aged for a few years. Waaay overpriced at $31.95 for a 750ml blue bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, MA.

Found at State Line Liquors and drank in Snowball, ON with BobbyS. A complex beer of wafting aromas, creamy almost winey mouthfeel. Tastes: caramel, cocacolish with wheat, porterish mollassess, and of course yeast. Very drinkable.Chocolate, coffee.Balanced and neither overally sweet, nor bitter

Purchased at the BSF bar, GBBF 2009; this "non-filtered, bottle-conditioned" ale comes in a 375ml dark green bottle - like the kind used for most lambic/gauze; "Riserva 2008", BB 09/03/2014, served cool in Hapkin's bulb-shaped sniffer.

A: very dark in colour, like charred-wood brown, coming with a mild carbonation and a tan frothy head that gradually settles to a thin cap to last throughout the drink.S: old dried fruits (raisins+prunes), stimulating black sugar, bitter-chocolaty & creamy malts sit on top of a thick body of American flowery hops plus some thick-bodied honey; the whole aroma comes with good depth and volume, backed by a soul-lifting aura mixed of sweet dried herbs and root herbs (licorice-ish as well) in the background. Very nice indeed and like an American Barley Wine, albeit less pronounced in the hop department.T: the foretaste comes delicately yeasty-sour and lightly mouldy (like expired/lightly moulded cheese even), while it's also full of dried fruits just like the aroma suggests (raisiny, prune-ish and even grapey) and always buttressed by a rather light-bodied toffee-ish dark malts with an edge of burned nuts and black sugar... Elegantly lingering in the finish, the pleasant stream of sweet coffee, licorice-herbal tea, and tannins as of semi-roast tea leaves along with residual aroma of more dried fruits are balanced by a moderately chewy mouthfeel of decent input of hops.M&D: very soft in carbonation and medium at most in terms of overall body, this 10%abv. ale is smooth and fairly easy to enjoy without going heavy at all. The hops profile reveals in a skilful way, as do the overall slightly old-ish characters. I'm very surprised to find this Italian take on the Old Ale (rather than any barley wine that I know of, actually) style such a mature product, that a structure of flavour is neatly presented and alc. level is certainly brilliantly camouflaged.

Pours a murky cider like brown with a good sized medium tan head that slowly recedes. Aroma is of sweet malts, grapes come thru nicely, almost like a sweet white wine aroma, a bit of chocolate and a hint of roastiness. Taste follows with the grape showing stronger even than in the aroma, some oakiness and tannic qualities and some chocolate hiding in the back. Mouthfeel is medium in body, some biting at the front of the tongue before a nice drying begins and continues thru into the finish, the dryness balancing the sweetness. A very interesting beer, the alcohol seems well hidden. I think this could be quite good with some age.

From a 37.5 cl bottle, labeled 'Riserva 2007', this brew has a thin, film-like head that quickly disappears. The color is dark brown, bordering on black, with crimson red highlights in the shallows. The aroma is simply fantastic. A rich complexity of malt, roasted grain, fruity esters, alcohol, oak, vanilla, raisins, and chocolate. It's the kind of beer that is amazing to smell; there's a lot going on in there. The taste is equally good, although quite different from the norm. It is astringent and vinous, with a curious smoky and slightly acidic, tannic character. The beer is supposed to be made with Cannoau wine grapes, which is a wonderful full-bodied wine. I think that this adds to the complexity of the beer. The beer dries out by the finish, and almost becomes astringent, leaving a roasted, slightly sour flavor in the hind-taste. This is a well conceived and incredibly enjoyable (especially in the smell) brew. Well worth having.

Pours with a nice finger of lightly tan head that has some bubbliness about it and holds fairly well on a deep, dark cola brown hue. Not great lacing, though.

Aroma is really packed with lots of fruits: passion fruits, plums, prunes, all really nice. Some hop bitterness comes into play, but really leans to an English take on the style. Aroma also has notes of caramel and toffee. Flavor is decidedly less sweet than led on by the aroma, but this is a good thing for me. Still lots of fruitiness in the taste, but more on the prune-side. Nice bit of a hop kiss mid-taste; then toffee and even a coffee note sneeks in. Really lots of nice flavors, and well-balanced and enjoyable. MF is medium, with subtle, soft carbonation. Really nice sipping brew and warming, and my only complaint is that the hop profile would need to be amped up a little to make it a US Barleywine. Nonetheless, it's definitely a nice one in general. Good brew.

F: For flavor there is a nice charred woodiness, bitter earthy hops, and dominate sherry notes. There is a nice acidic nature to the beer in the finish providing a sour fruit tartness of spicy plums. There is a great dark bitter coffee roasted lacing on the tongue in the finish as well a gentle alcohol warming.

M: The mouthful is medium-full body, very slick and softly carbonated.

D: A dark roasted treat with a huge robust roasted flavor that is surprisingly drinkable considering abv. a great complexity of flavors makes for an enjoyable experience with a refined palate.

Pours a very dark brown, almost prune purplish black with a huge 3 finger frothy coffee colored head with excellent retention that slowly fades into a lasting cap that coats the glass with large chunks of soapy lacing.

Roasted malt aroma with hints of bitter dark chocolate malt, dark fruits, especially plum, dark cherry and fig as well as some spice.

Roasted malt flavor with a lot of bitter dark chocolate and dark fruit, especially plum, raisin, dark cherries, grape and fig. There is also a good bit of cocoa and coffee bean to balance things out. The sweetness of the estery fruit notes are balanced by the roasted notes and the subtle hops provide a slight dry finish. The alcohol is undetectable and the excellent balance make this beer extremely quaffable. Highly recommended!

Hahahahaha, I love it man, I friggin love it. These guys are out there bustin their balls makin this great stuff for us to drink. This is great! Oh yeah, and this beer too! Poured with a nice foamy frothy thick tan head and some lace. Color is a very dark brown with red higlights.Aroma is a heady mix of malt fruit yeast fortified wine and chocolate. Flavor's the same way, but with a lot more of everything. Quite sweet. Sipping beer for sure. Body is heavenly and has perfect carbonation for this style. Be nice to try with a good cigar. Sweet boozy finish. Sipping beer with your smoking jacket on. hahahah hell ya